Wildblood
by Flamie Kitten
Summary: This Pokémon story isn't really like others. Instead of it being about trainers catching Pokémon, it is about Pokémon themselves wild ones, to be specific. An Eevee and a Vulpix, to be even more precise...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: In Which, a Kindred Spirit is Found

The heat of the early summer sun was beautifully warm against his lightly coloured beige fur, beating down in golden rays that illuminated the forest in its warm glow.

He flicked his ears forward as he listened to the bird's singing sweetly and the crickets chirruping in the tall grasses that huddled close to the trunks of the red-barked trees. He jumped back with a bark as a Taillow flitted by overhead, letting out a cry that made his fur rise slightly. It soon disappeared into the trees, however, and his fur settled.

Sniffing, he walked on; padding to a small burrow and slowly lowering his nose to it, trying to distinguish what creature the strange scent he had caught belonged to. A small growl made him skitter away, however, as the small, fuzzy head of a Zigzagoon popped out from the burrow, growling at the intruder who had so rudely poked its nose into his home. Fearful of this spiky-furred creature, he turned tail and ran, much to the racoon's satisfaction.

Exhausted and hungry, he stopped to rest near a gently trickling brook, watching a pair of fighting Corphish with obvious interest, even going as far as batting at them with a paw, only to hastily retreat it as the two crab-like creatures moved their large claws towards him.

Snorting with indignation, he jogged up the brook's length, pausing once more as he spotted a small, blue shell, closed up tight. Gingerly stepping into the cool water, he pawed at the shell until he knocked it up onto the shore, where he continued to play until he realised he could not open it and grew bored, leaving while the stranded Clamperl soon became the next luckless creature to fall under the gaze of a nearby Swellow.

Panting slightly now, he flopped underneath a tree, watching the flocks of Taillow up in the sky through a clear space in the canopy. He had not been in this new territory a day and already he was struggling. The little dog was seriously considering making the journey home.

He fell asleep as the sun set, belly grumbling loudly as it realised he was resting without it being full. Whimpering, he ignored it, scratching at his ear with a hind paw.

The night was warm, but that gave him no comfort as he attempted to snuggle into the mossy ground by the tree only to find that he had nuzzled straight into the sharp rear-end of a Wurmple. Yelping with pain, he soon devoured the caterpillar, making sure he did not eat the prickly, poisonous spines he had just been pricked by.

Though he was injured and worn out, it felt good to finally have some food in his growling belly, despite the meat being very little and not especially delicious. Still hungry, he padded through the night, ears drooping as fatigue started to win over once again.

He startled a herd of Stantler as he nosed his way into a clearing, fluffing up into a tiny ball as the deer scattered, trembling even after they had left. A Hoothoot, high above him on a jutting-out branch, let out a little cry, ruffling its feathers as it constantly switched from foot-to-foot, keeping the time.

Uncurling, he jumped up, placing his front paws on the tree trunk, and barked at the little owl, causing those bright, red eyes of its to be narrowed as it made a little huffing sound and flapped away. He continued to bark, running along the undergrowth as he followed it from one tree to the next, yapping and whimpering.

There was a rustling sound and a small, red-furred face was suddenly directly in front of his, another set of red eyes glowing, only these ones were gentler and a little more familiar to him.

Pressing her nose to his briefly, the vixen ran off, leaping over a rotten log and out of sight. Tilting his head slightly, he soon gave chase, his nose tingling where she had touched it.

It didn't take long for him to find her again, her scentsmell being one he found he could not easily forget. Something about it reminded him of the earth, when he had been up high in the mountains.

She had paused, sitting atop a tree stump as she waited for him to catch up. Nimbly leaping up beside her, he found he did not have the time to sit as she did for they were soon off again, running under the light of the moon. If he hadn't been so tired and hungry he would've enjoyed the nighttime run.

Finally, she came to a small earth and nudged him, clearly indicating that he should go inside.

Slightly nervous, but eternally grateful, he padded into the warmth and the safety of the vixen's cosy little home. There was little bedding of any kind but a small pile of dried grasses and clumps of fur, which he determined to be hers as he scented it.

Settling down in a corner, he waited for her to step inside also, but she didn't come. Whimpering and licking the wound he had received from the Wurmple on his flank, he curled up, resting his chin on his outstretched paws as he waited and he rested, sleep soon making his eyes feel heavy, too heavy to keep open. Feeling completely safe for the first time in several suntimes, he allowed exhaustion to win and settled into a deep and peaceful sleep.

With morning came the scent of rain and damp earth. Shivering slightly, he lifted his head and yawned, stretching out his forelegs as he loosened up his taunt muscles. Memories were fuzzy and few, he found, as he attempted to recall the events of the previous day and night, wincing as they came flooding back.

Shaking out his furry mane, he stood and padded towards the entrance of the cosy little den, lifting his nose to the breeze and once again catching that undisputable scent of rain. The dark clouds up above confirmed his suspicions.

A sudden pain caused him to yelp and he instantly attacked the painful spot on his left side, gnawing and licking as instinct told him to do. A bark, a little higher in tone and pitch than his own, soon made him stop, however, as the young vixen came trotting towards him, a Marill dangling from her black-lipped jaws, six tails flicking out simultaneously.

Ravenous, he padded quickly over to her, ears flicking back and shoulders hunching as she let out a warning growl. The vixen ate a little of the kill before tossing the mouse over to the yipping dog, who set upon it like he had been depraved of such spoils for many moontimes. Which he had. Soon, there was nothing much left but a tattered scrap of fur and the blue ball that had once been on the end of the prey's tail, however, the vixen soon made short work of those also. Marill had very few bones.

Sniffing her muzzle as though he was thanking her, the now-full dog licked at her face, which she put up with good humour, as obviously her earlier temper had left as the food had filled her own stomach.

They rolled and they played for a while, getting to know each other's scents properly. They also learned each other's names, though as they were "spoken" in slightly different dialects they had to compromise in order to pronounce them. Her name was a series of low growls and murring, which meant _Eldora_. His was a high-pitched yip followed by two short barks, which told her his name was _Kalikow_.

They also both enquired what species they each were, though as neither had names for their kind, they improvised. _Eldora_ was a red-six-tail while _Kalikow_ was a maned-single-tail. An everyday human would've called them both fox. A Pokétrainer would've called them Vulpix and Eevee.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: In Which, a Bond Strengthens and Grows

He refused to be parted from her during the course of that next week. He cried out for her when she left, whimpered when they were apart, leaped and jumped about when she returned, if he even allowed her to leave in the first place. If he had his own way, _Eldora_ would not even been able to pass water without him hovering around her as she did so. As it were, the vixen was strong of will and character, and though she found _Kalikow's _actions endearing, sometimes they became a little too much and she had to push him away.

One thing she did permit him to do was help her when she went out hunting. He was young and, though he was excitable, once calmed down he proved to be a most quick and intelligent pupil. He was a couple of moontimes younger than her, but the gap between their ages was not so great according to relevance, and they were more like friends than teacher and pupil.

The rain he had smelled soon fell over a period of three suntimes, soaking the steamy forests and causing all of the prey to go into hiding until the rains retreated.

During those three days the pair ate little but mushrooms, namely what could be eaten of the prey Shroomish without the risk of poisoning themselves.

_Eldora_ also showed the maned-single-tail which berries he could eat to lessen the effects of the Wurmple's toxin. After a few mouthfuls of these berries, which he learned were called Pecha, the venom had all but left his system.

There were many kinds of berries in the forest, and they all did something different to the last one. Oran berries filled you up, Chesto berries gave you energy, Persim berries made you clear-headed, Figy berries made you feel a little sleepy, but comfortably full and Leppa berries gave you stamina.

There were also berries that didn't appear to do anything but taste good, like the red Razz, and there were berries that you should steer clear of no matter how hungry you were, like the fluffy, bitter Durin that no creature had ever dared eat. _Kalikow _learned how to recognize them all from sight under _Eldora's _gentle guidance, and soon they were finding ways to make their meals more interesting by chewing up certain berries along with prey.

When the rains retreated, the prey returned and the pair could finally get back to hunting real food again. They mostly caught Taillow, Whismur, Marill and even the occasional Pikachu, small, easy-to-catch prey that made hunting a breeze unless the electric mice tried to fight against the foxes, which happened fairly often and made them rare quarry to obtain.

Stantler were tempting, though far too big for them to handle even when working together. Not only did they have crushing hooves and a powerful kick, but the beads in the centre of their antlers could also render anyone who looked for too long to become entranced and unable to move. A Cheri berry or two would soon cure that, but only if they managed to get them before being trampled to death.

Once, they had managed to corner and kill a rare find, a prickly Sandshrew, though it had been hard work, almost too hard for it to be worth chasing and attacking for over two hours.

While exploring together, they chanced upon a Skitty burrow, full of tiny, mewling kittens. Although they had intended the little kits no harm, the mother Skitty chased them out, her tail rattling, her normally adorable face contorted with rage. They never returned to the burrow while the kits were still under the protection of their mother, but natural curiosity made them watch through the trees as they grew and played.

One day, all of the kittens left to find their own path in the world and the pair never saw them again, apart from the occasional scent marking or claw marks on a tree. The Skitty mother grew and became a Delcatty, and she too was never seen again.

The pair could not say they missed them, but they longed to watch the playfulness of kittens again someday.

After the Skitty family left to explore the wide world, they looked for other sources of entertainment to amuse themselves with in-between hunting periods. At first they tried to do what _Kalikow _had tried just little under a moontime ago, crack open a pretty little Clamperl, but they soon realised it wasn't any fun and began tormenting the Goldeen in the lake. This too was stopped when a whole shoal began to attack them whenever they arrived.

The most dangerous thing they did was wander into Spearow territory, the home to birds with wickedly curved talons and beaks that also happened to be fiercely territorial. They attacked anything that came along, be it as small as a Wurmple or as large as a Tropius, even though those giant creatures did not live in the forest. So a Vulpix and an Eevee were small fry compared to some of the things they had attacked.

It had started off as an accident more than anything else, really. _Kalikow_ had been stalking a Whismur for over an hour and he wasn't about to give up on it after that length of time. He did not know where _Eldora _was, as, for once, they were not together.

He followed it for a little longer into strange territory with even stranger scents and odd, white marks on the trees and ground.

He padded into a clearing, completely oblivious to the menace being directed at him from all around. The Whismur turned, giving a terrified squeal and scrambling into the undergrowth. _Kalikow_ tilted his head slightly to the side, ears flicking back as he watched helplessly. He had lost it.

A sudden noise made him freeze as a leaf slowly floated down from above to land in front of him. Fearfully, he gazed upwards, recoiling in fear as blood-red eyes, narrow and hateful, stared at him from the gloom. He took a step backwards and was about to turn tail and make a run for it when a Rattata suddenly burst from the side, dashing across the leaf litter as it ran for its life.

There was the sound of claws scraping against back, low caws, soft feathers upon the air. One-by-one, the Spearow flock plummeted downwards, towards the racing, purple-hued Rattata… and towards the fear-struck Eevee.

Letting out a harsh bark and a growl that rumbled his throat, _Kalikow _crouched and leapt over one of his approaching attackers, making a break for the trees while yipping loudly, calling for _Eldora_. Those fearsome talons grew closer and closer as the Spearow drew its claws in front, ready to grab the hapless Eevee… when a burst of bright flames hit it full in the side, charring the feathers black as it squawked and fell to the ground.

_Kalikow _looked at it with amazement written all over his face, frozen where he stood until _Eldora_ crashed into his side, growling and nudging him, her breath unusually warm.

The Eevee took one look at her before wrapping his teeth around her scruff and yanking her with him, far away from the evil-looking Spearow and the helpless Rattata. They soon made short work of that little rodent. A second later, and it was gone.

They tumbled straight into the den, exhausted beyond all belief. _Eldora _told him to fetch her a Rawst berry, and he recoiled in surprise. A cure for burns? Had she been hit by that blast of fire he had seen? She refused to answer any of his questions, just begging that he would go and do that simple task for her while she coughed and she panted, neck resting flat on the floor of their den.

Without another word, he left.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: In Which, Humans Come to the Forest

She never told him why she needed that berry, and he was alright with it as soon as he saw that she was recovering from whatever had been wrong with her. He was too trusting to draw any unusual conclusions, and just accepted the fact that she had been sick and had needed a certain thing to make her better. That certain thing had just been a Rawst berry.

Many suntimes later, about eight or nine, the pair were playing with docile Magikarp by the banks of the lake when tall-no-tails walked into the clearing and towards the water with large poles slung over their shoulders.

_Kalikow_ was curious as to what they were doing, but _Eldora _told him that they needed to go towards the trees now. Disappointed, he obeyed, but pleaded with her to allow them to watch the strange creatures from the safety of the tree line, where they would not be spotted. She reluctantly agreed, nuzzling him into a bush where they could lie, chew on Oran berries, and watch.

The tall-no-tails sat on the banks of the lake, tying long strings to the ends of the poles and chucking the string-ends into the water. Every-so-often they would pull the strings up again, but there was nothing on them.

The two were beginning to grow bored when, suddenly, a tall-no-tail gave a great bark of joy and leapt to his feet, pulling the pole hard until the string came up, which had something bright and orange dangling from the end, flailing wildly. The Vulpix and Eevee recognized it instantly, a lazy-swim-tail, or one of the Magikarp they had been teasing earlier.

The tall-no-tail took the lazy-swim-tail off of the string and showed it to the other members of his pack. They all made booming sounds that were quite jolly and reminded the foxes of murring. So they were pleased that had caught the Magikarp, but why? What were they going to do with it? Lazy-swim-tails tasted horrible, which was why they were played with instead of hunted. Too many tough scales and not enough meat…

They whacked it several times on the head with another, thicker stick. The Magikarp flailed wildly again for a few moments, but then went still as it was placed on the bank. _Kalikow _nearly jumped out of his fur as it flipped about, despite him knowing it was dead. A blow like that would've broken several bones easily enough, but why were the tall-no-tails hunting them? Surely they knew they could not be eaten…

They watched as several more lazy-swim-tails were caught, along with a pretty-swim-tail, or a Goldeen. Unlike the Magikarp, this small fish was chucked back into the lake without a second glance.

Ten lazy-swim-tails were caught and hit before the strange visitors finally left, leaving the two foxes with minds full of questions and confusion.

Leaping from the bush, they ran over to where the tall-no-tails had been stood and sniffed everything they had touched, the grass, the trees, the rocks and even the Goldeen they had thrown back in, after about ten minutes of chase-and-catch. The scentsmell was like nothing either of them had ever come across before.

One night after the tall-no-tails had left, _Kalikow _heard rustling and woke to find _Eldora _awake and getting ready to go outside. His confused face was enough to spur her into telling him that she was going to track the strange creatures back to where they had come from, to see if she could work out what they had done with all of the Magikarp. Instantly, the maned-single-tail became excited and jumped to his furry paws, nuzzling and licking her chin.

She batted him away half heartedly before flicking one of her tails against his body, leaping from the den and into the crisp, cool night. He was soon right behind her.

They soon caught the scent, though it was slightly faint now that a day since they had been there had passed. They had spent so long sniffing all around the lake that the pungent odour was almost familiar to them, as easy as tracking their own scentsmell.

Before long, the scent steadily grew stronger as they grew closer to where the tall-no-tails lived. The tang of salt also hit their nostrils, though they had no means to tell them what this could possibly mean, so they just walked on, sniffing softly and licking their lips free from the air's taste.

Suddenly, the trees were no more as their world opened out into a new one, a great, strange and terrifying new one, shining even in the darkness and surrounded by the greatest lake the pair of them had ever set their eyes on. They stood on the edge of the cliff, gazing down with wonder, mouths dropping down so low they were surprised they weren't brushing against the grass.

_Kalikow _let out a low yip, followed by a series of murring and growling as he tried to demonstrate just how he felt in limited sounds. Body movement was much easier, the furious wagging of his tail the symbol of happiness, the scratching at the ground the symbol of nervousness. As was scent. Fearscent and joyscent.

_Eldora_ was displaying similar signs of emotion too, her voice a little different, her scents a little strange, but one and the same as the maned-single-tail's.

Fear and fatigue forced them to return to their den, though they were quivering with excitement all through the night as they recalled the images of the great tall-no-tail world, so bright even through the endless darkness. They knew that they would not be able to live happily for long without returning to that cliff and watching the shining place once more.

And so, as they nuzzled up to each other, grooming one-another's fur with gentle, affectionate licks, they talked in their own separate ways and yet they both knew what the other meant. Tomorrow, they would return to the shining place…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: In Which, a Great and Exciting Journey Begins

They were up even before the sun, racing each other towards the brook so that they could catch enough spoils to see them through the day.

Before long, they almost walked straight into a terrified Marill, and killed it instantly, digging up a cache of Rattata meat from two nights ago and pawing down some Oran and Leppa from a nearby berry bush. They were going to need as much strength as they possibly could handle for the journey they were about to embark on.

Lying comfortably as they ate, little stomachs bulging as they gulped down yet more and more of the fresh and delicious food, they murred quite happily together, finding companionship strangely enjoyable despite having been alone for most of their young lives.

Licking their lips free from any missed scraps, the two got to their paws and set off at any easy pace along the scent trail they had left earlier to make their return easier than the original visit. A Taillow let out a soft cry and swooped overhead, possibly searching for prey of its own, such as Wurmple and young Surskit. As long as it didn't bother the two foxes, they would leave it alone in return.

There it was, once again, perhaps even more impressive now that the sunlight was playing with the waves of the great lake, as well as the tall, silvery, square trees all growing in the most unusual places in the tall-no-tail clearing.

It took them a little while to make their way down the hill, as the only paths they could find were made by Stantler and therefore very steep and near-impossible for creatures of their small size to use safely, but somehow they did, their reflexes in top shape after their energizing meal.

As soon as they got to the bottom of the cliff they rested a while, sniffing out a Leppa berry bush and gulping down one or two of the small, tasty berries. As they were hard it took a little chewing to break them down into manageable pulp, but the refreshing juices that were soon sliding down their throats were just the reward they needed, especially because of the energy rush they soon felt afterwards.

Happy and ready to go on, the pair padded away from the trees they had lived with all of their lives and towards the different trees, the trees that glowed and sparkled and gave this world its name… the shining place.

The scents hit them first, a great explosion of different smells ranging from fish to salt and to tall-no-tails, followed quickly by the sounds of great, strange barks and booming murring and then the sights of the great shining place itself. The path underneath their paws felt cold, colder than the ice they had once seen as kits, creeping through the forest. The air tasted strange too… salt, salt everywhere.

They huddled together by the edge of one of the silvery trees, watching the tall-no-tails go past with looks of wonder on their faces and sparkle clearly in their eyes. What amazed them more than the strange tall ones, however, was the appearance of predator and prey species walking together and with the no-tails, as though they were the two foxes, pairs, companions, friends. It confused them almost to a point of despair.

Just then, a great-nine-tail, one of the Vulpix species' closest relatives, padded past, and he was alone. Yapping excitedly, _Eldora_ leapt up and padded out in front of him, beginning to talk quickly and excitedly in their shared tongue. It made _Kalikow _realise just how little they were able to fully talk with one-another.

After a few minutes of yipping and snuffling, the Ninetails left, but he kept looking back at _Eldora_ strangely as she raced back to the Eevee, nibbling on his ear as though enticing him to come out of hiding, something he was very reluctant to do.

Eventually, however, he relented and gingerly stepped from the shadows and into the gleaming light. The vixen ran around him, yipping loudly and nuzzling his flank with her nose before dashing off again, straight towards a pack of tall-no-tails! He whimpered and picked up the pace, closing his mouth over one of her tails and gently pulling, causing her to stop and look back at him bizarrely, ears flicking back as she uttered a low growl that made him back off. Top lip still drawn back she raced straight into the middle of the crowd, leaving him alone and devastated, sitting upon the cold path.

He waited for her to come back for a long time, sitting where she had left him in the middle of the path while the tall ones walked past without so much as a glancing look. It tore his little heart up into pieces as he realised that everyone was ignoring him. Nobody wanted to talk to him or make him feel safe and loved. The pain he felt was so great that he bowed his head and let out a rumbling growl that sounded so mournful and tear-jerking that many turned to look at him with puzzlement.

Uttering a series of low grunts, a small-no-tail came over and extended a flat, furless paw to him. With a shock, he growled and leapt away, fur bristling, hackles rising as his mane fluffed out hugely. The small-no-tail made noises of distress, moving towards him once more, that paw still outstretched. But _Kalikow _was having none of it and soon danced away from the no-tail infant, tail thrashing as his ears flicked back against his head.

By now he had reasoned that his beloved red-six-tail would not be coming back. And he was not happy about it.

He steered clear of the packs of tall-no-tails, skittering around the outskirts of their large, noisy groups, hackles rising as he feigned vicious growling. They left him alone, which was exactly what he wanted.

Every-so-often, he caught the scentsmell of _Eldora_, but it was everywhere, mixed in with the scents of others, prey, predator, tall-no-tail… it was so confusing that he did not know what to do, did not know which trail to follow, if any at all. He whined and he called out for her, but, even if she did hear him, she refused to respond.

Hunger drew him away from the shining place and towards a group of bedraggled trees, where he quickly found and ate a dozy Shroomish, being careful to gulp down a couple of Pecha berries to counter-act the poisonous spores. Just remembering that she had taught him that not too many moontimes ago made his heart lurch and he uttered a despairing cry once more, flicking his ears but, once more, hearing no response.

Burying the remains of his prey he padded towards the shining place again, realising with a jolt that, as it grew darker, the trees were beginning to glow brighter and brighter.

He walked up to one and touched his nose to it, but the cold shock that ran through his body made him jerk away again and run back into the centre of the shining tall-no-tail place, howling with fear. Those trees were like nothing he had ever seen, scented or touched before.

She could hear his cries very easily, as he had called out for her so often during their short time together that his voice had practically imprinted on her mind.

She did not know why she didn't want to go back to him, as every time he called her she lowered her nose to the floor with a pitiful whine, ears flattened against her head. All she knew was that she wanted to be with him again, but couldn't, and that the excitement she had felt while talking to the great-nine-tail had been very different to the one she had felt around _Kalikow_.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: In Which, the Word Heat Learns a new Meaning

The smell of fish greeting him as he opened bleary eyes, blinking slowly and tilting his head slightly to the side, trying to also catch the comforting scent he had not yet realised would not be there.

Yawing massively, pointed teeth shining as his jaws opened, _Kalikow_ wriggled his way through the gap in the upturned crate and barked out in surprise as he realised he wasn't safe and cosy back in his den in the forest, but still in the shining place, among all of their tall inhabitants.

Cowering, he curled up into a little ball, watching the tall-no-tails go past, carrying yet more crates like the one he had spent the night underneath. Relaxing slightly, he ran over to something that had fallen out of the crate, delighted as he found it was a fish, despite being like none of the fishes he had seen in the lake. He called it silver-swim-tail before dragging it back to the crate and beginning to eat with a ravenous look on his face, licking his lips as he finished and looking around for more. He had just enjoyed his first taste of Remoraid.

Feeling a little calmer than the night before, the young Eevee padded around the bustling crate place, sniffing all of the ones he could reach without being shooed away by a tall one. Occasionally, someone would toss a small Remoraid to him, which he'd gulp down eagerly, and once he was chucked a slippery-swim-tail, which took a little effort to eat but soon joined the silver-swim-tails in his belly. Barboach were unusual fare, but he was just glad to be given so much food without having to do anything.

One thing he did not allow was small- and tall-no-tails to come close to him. They were forever trying to touch him, but he just growled and danced out of his reach. After a few attempts, they eventually left him alone, but it was mainly those that had tried to touch him and failed that fed him fish, strangely enough.

Returning to his crate after a short while of begging and receiving, _Kalikow_ rested his chin on his paws, curling his tail around his nose as he thought about _Eldora_ and where she might be. The ache he felt told him that he missed her, but he respected her far too greatly to be chasing her all around the shining place if she did not want to be chased.

Sighing softly, he fell back to sleep, full and cool as he rested in the crate's shade. He would wait forever for her, no matter how long that took.

_Eldora_ was not alone. She had found a pack of her own kind, red-six-tails, sniffing around hollow, metal stumps resting near the sparkling trees. They had showed her how to knock over the stumps and get at the food inside, but the pitiful tall-no-tail scraps did not suit her wild tastes, and so she set off to find something a little more filling.

Curious as to what she would do, the pack chased after her, yipping and playing as they padded down the cold paths, dashing straight through the tall ones' packs, receiving no pain but the pain in their ears from the loud tall-no-tail shouting.

_Eldora_ was a little more careful about how she walked around the shining place, but the joy of being with her own kind and the excited state they were in soon rubbed off on her and, before long, she found that she was chasing after them and not the other way around.

She was strangely playful with all of the male red-six-tails in the group, of which made up about two-thirds of the group, the rest being female.

She licked and she nuzzled them, nibbling on their ears and rubbing against them whenever she could, murring and playing, all six tails brushing against theirs in a seemingly affectionate way, the way she normally only did to _Kalikow_. It was as if she did not have control over her own body, instinct and emotion were taking control.

Letting out a sharp yip, they came to the outskirts of the very same crate place the maned-single-tail had just been prowling around. Indeed, his scentsmell became apparent to _Eldora_ as soon as she arrived, but her reaction was strangely uncaring.

Suddenly breaking off into pairs, with the wild vixen assigned to a young dog Vulpix, the pack dispersed around the crate place, sniffing out choicer spoils than the ones they had found in the metal stumps.

_Eldora_ and her partner were in luck, as soon as they wandered over to a female tall-no-tail and made little whimpering noises, she tossed a few slimy-swim-tails to them, which they took without another sound and bounded off, their prizes dangling from their jaws as they went to find the rest of the group.

After a fruitful half-hour of begging, the pack met up behind a pile of old, broken crates and shared out their gains. Several slimy-swim-tails, a couple of silver-swim-tails and even a small whiskered-swim-tail, a rare Whiscash that the tall-no-tails had not wanted for some reason.

Taking what they wanted from the small pile of food, the red-six-tails sat in pleasant company while they ate and they talked. Most of it was harmless chatter, but some of the conversation the ever-alert _Eldora_ picked up could prove to be quite useful, such as the locations of other such crate places like this, as well as hiding, sleeping and many more good food places. The sleeping places were the ones she took careful note of, as she did not wish to have to sleep between two metal stumps again like she had the previous night.

Murring softly, she nuzzled up to the male she had been partnered with and closed her eyes, feeling content and restful though strangely on the edge, as though there was a line of fur on the back of her neck that refused to settle.

It was he who was the cause of _Eldora's _discomfort. Peering from his crate but a few paces away, _Kalikow_ watched the pack with astonishment and hurt on his face. He'd never felt so alone before, never felt so rejected. There she was, his dear vixen, nuzzled up against another dog like he had never existed. Why was she doing this? Why had she left him like that? He did not know, but the answers swirling in his mind were making him start to wish he had never eaten that slimy-swim-tail.

As the nighttime approached, the pack was on the move again, having slept off most of their meal and eager to find a place to properly rest for the night.

_Kalikow_ shook himself awake as they began to run from the crate place, and found the energy to chase after them at a forced pace, not wanting them to catch his scent or, worse still, see him and viciously chase him off like _Eldora_ had done when he had tugged her tail.

They were not running for long, and the Eevee had to dive behind a metal stump as the pack came to a halt and began sniffing around a sparkling tree, padding around its back and disappearing through a hole in the side.

The maned-single-tail quickly got to his feet, slowly walking around to the other side also, but suddenly freezing as he caught the scentsmell of a red-six-tail. They had left a sentry out to guard their hiding place, and _Kalikow_ knew that they would not let anyone inside even if they were carrying a mountain's share of prey with them.

Utterly dejected, he padded back towards the metal stumps and spent a restless night on a slice of one, shivering and wishing he were back home, in the burrow and warm. Hope kept him in the shining place, waiting for _Eldora_ to find him again, but even that little piece of faith he had lived with ever since she had taken him in had began to fade with every passing suntime.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: In Which, Hope is Lost and Spirits Soar

He awoke with a yelp as he realised he was surrounded by five of the red-six-tail pack. They growled at him, the leader leaning forward to sniff at his fur.

Growling also, _Kalikow_ leapt to his feet, fur bristling as the pack snapped and snarled, encircling him completely without so much as a gap to wriggle through. He was well and truly trapped, and scared out of his mind, but the young Eevee was not about to let himself be taken down without a fight.

Just as he was about to leap at one of them, there was a flash of movement and he was slammed to the ground by a familiar form. _Eldora_! He began to yip with excitement, but she pushed him away, teeth glinting dangerously. He looked at her; fear and confusion clear in his eyes. Why was she helping them attack him? Did she want him to be hurt? Worried, he made himself look submissive, ears flicking back as he huddled close to the ground.

_Eldora _turned to face the others, and began to talk quickly. The red-six-tails looked at one-another as she talked, clearly puzzled by what she was saying. _Kalikow_ was bewildered by her words also, but that was mainly because he didn't understand her.

After a moment of fast explaining, the pack vanished, back towards the place they had rested for the night. _Eldora_ remained with the cowering Eevee.

As soon as they were gone, the maned-single-tail sat up, ears still flattened and pose still slightly docile, as he looked at her with hurt and fear in his brown eyes. She regarded him coolly, as though she could not care less about how muddled he was feeling.

Finally, she began to talk to him, her speech clearly stilted so that he would understand her. He could understand her, but he did not like what he could understand. After listening for a few moments he recoiled, shrinking back away from her to press up against the wall. She flattened her own ears and padded towards him, attempting to give him a comforting lick on the cheek, but he would not allow her. Howling with sadness, he leapt away and would not stop running.

She watched him in despair. She did not know what to do.

When _Eldora_ returned to the pack den, she was greeting by friendly calls, licks and nuzzles, though none of it would make her feel any better as she recalled his look of misery, time and time again in her mind.

The other Vulpix did not know why she was so upset, as they had not truly understood much of which she had told them earlier, only that if they did not want to endure her wrath they had to return to the resting place without asking any questions. Threats meant little among friends, especially Pokémon, and so there were no hard feelings as they welcomed her back, despite knowing that she could've been speaking true and would've hurt them all had they not left.

Distraught, he returned to the crate place, his appearance so forlorn that he was given two silver-swim-tails before even uttering a sound.

Taking them back to his upturned crate, the little Eevee began to eat the fish in a despondent manner, the words spoken to him just a moment earlier still ringing in his mind.

She was… he paused, trying to call up the correct word. In _heat_, yes, that was the right word, she was in _heat_. What that meant, exactly, he did not know as he found it difficult to translate into his own language, but the other things she had told him had been clear. For as long as she was in _heat_, she would be staying with the other red-six-tails. He had been fine with that… it was just that she had neglected to say whether she would be going back to live with him again that had upset the maned-one-tail.

Sighing softly, he rolled onto his side, closing his eyes and frowning deeply. What could it mean? Heat was warmth… but _heat_ was… was…

His eyes snapped open and he sat up straight, banging his head on the ceiling of his crate and yelping. Of course! He knew exactly what she meant, now! _Heat_ meant… meant… He had to stop her. Quickly.

It didn't take long for her body to take control again, and soon she was nuzzling against the male her emotions had chosen for her, all memories of _Kalikow_ vanishing as she murred and rubbed up against him.

He obviously knew what all of these displays of affection meant, but had made no action to return them just yet. Instead, the dog fox simply put up with all of her attention in a cool and calm manner, gratefully receiving all of the nuzzles and licks but returning none of his own.

This confused her, but still she tried to gain his affection, whimpering and licking at his ears and muzzle. He batted her with a tail, giving her hope as she took it into her mouth, nibbling softly. The male, whose name was _Akayo_, growled a soft warning, but relented and allowed her to do what she wished, flicking his ears at their leader as the vixen rolled onto her back and began to paw at him.

The leader looked from _Akayo_ to _Eldora _for an instant, before giving the dog a discreet nod.

Ears flicking upwards, the male let out a low yip of joy, pouncing on _Eldora_ and finally returning all of the love she had lavished on him, much to her surprise and excitement. The leader had given him his permission… the _heat_smell could finally be answered.

He leapt over an upturned metal stump and almost crashed head-on into a Skitty. He whimpered as memories of a past encounter with the felines flooded his mind, but the smiling, pink cat could only watch him in confusion as he skittered past, calling out with a sweet meow.

On he ran, beige paws almost a blur as he sped along the cold crowd. He skidded around a corner, gasping for breath as he began running upwards and then turned again, dashing past the metal trees and towards the one the red-six-tails had occupied.

Screeching to a halt, he barked several times and, almost instantly, three burly foxes padded around the corner, their ears flicking back as they recognized him.

_Kalikow_ quickly explained that it was important he saw _Eldora_, but they all responded with soft growls, informing him sharply that the vixen was busy and not to be disturbed. Hackles rising, the dog Eevee walked a step closer, whimpering as he emphasised on the dire importance. The red-six-tails glanced at each other worriedly, and one broke off from the other two.

The two remaining foxes padded over to and sat on each side of _Kalikow_, silent but constantly on guard. The maned-single-tail glared at both of them, fur settling slightly as he waited.

The other Vulpix did not take long to get back, but as soon as the Eevee looked at him he knew what the answer would be, and so leapt to his feet and dashed past him before the two guarding him could do anything about it. Barely two seconds later, all three were snarling and snapping at his tail, but _Kalikow_ had an advantage, no matter how slight. He was smaller and more agile, and therefore he easily pulled away.

Lifting his nose to the air he desperately sought out _Eldora's _scentsmell, and nearly barked for joy when he found it. Looking back, he could see the other red-six-tails a few paces behind him. Time for him to lose the trackers.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: In Which, a Friendship Grows Further Than Before

He leapt up onto a metal stump, feeling it teeter dangerously underneath him as he fought for balance. The red-six-tails soon caught up, gathering around the base of the stump and growling loudly, pushing it with their forepaws.

_Kalikow_ bravely kept on as it rocked back and forth, crouching down low as he prepared to leap. With a mighty yip, he leapt from the stump and onto another, pushing the one he had just leapt from firmly with his hindpaws, causing it to fall straight onto the three. They yelped as the metal, as well as all of the stump's contents, fell onto them, but were soon still as the Eevee dashed away to where he had caught _Eldora's _scentsmell.

_Eldora _and_ Akayo _both nuzzled each other as they padded down a path between two of the tall-two-leg dens, excitement growing as the _heat_smell intoxicated them both, making their bodies hot with passion and emotion.

They came to a dead end in the path and began playing, rolling and licking. _Eldora_ felt incredibly happy, but something at the back of her mind would not leave her alone…

Yipping loudly, he ran straight past the path. Had it not been for the incredibly strong scentsmell he suddenly caught, he would not have noticed the two red-six-tails at the bottom of the path. One of them was _Eldora_, and the other one was… his ears flattened. A Vulpix male.

Letting out a low growl, he stepped towards the pair, both of which glanced up at him with obvious surprise. _Akayo_ began growling also, top lip curling back as the Eevee approached.

_Eldora_ looked from one to the other in despair, leaping up between them in an attempt to keep them away from each other. She yipped and called out to both of them, being careful to use words they'd both understand. _Kalikow _stopped growling and his ears swivelled forwards while the male red-six-tail continued his harsh snarling.

Even as she tried to explain to the Eevee what was happening, _Akayo_ leapt over her and faced him, eyes glinting in a deadly fashion as he told the poor fox that _Eldora_ was _his_ and that she had chosen him, and therefore _Kalikow_ had no right to be there.

With a wretched look upon his face, the young maned-single-tail gazed at the vixen, large ears neatly folding back once more as he asked her if it was true. And then, in the same breath, he told her that he had liked her before even the alluring scentsmell had begun to make his head dizzy. He said that the other male had been hypnotised, that he didn't like her at all and was only looking to mate with a pretty female.

_Eldora _yipped with surprise at his forwardness, but _Akayo _uttered a terrifying bark and leapt at _Kalikow_, biting and clawing at his ruff and neck.

The Eevee yelped in shock and began to fight back, not knowing how to attack and so relying on instinct instead. The vixen whimpered loudly and ran over to them, but the ferocity of the battle forced her away again as the two dog foxes snapped and snarled, biting through fur and flesh, blood staining their muzzles.

_Kalikow's _mane protected him against any attacks to the neck while the Vulpix was helpless to his enemies' direct attacks. They parted briefly, panting and gasping for air before leaping into the fight once more, yipping and yelping as they fought for the affections of the dearly loved female.

Suddenly, just as _Kalikow_ was about to get a grip on _Akayo's _neck the Vulpix kicked him in the stomach, throwing him off with a snarl and pinning him down, lashing at his ruff with his forepaws and tearing out tufts of fur. The Eevee yowled with pain, struggling to push off his assailant while looking towards _Eldora_ with an imploring look on his face.

The vixen recognized that face. That was the face she had rescued all of those moontimes ago. That was the face she had laughed at when it had licked a Durin and begged for water. That was the face she had licked when it had looked at her with those sweet, brown eyes one night.

That was the face she was giving up by giving into her own emotions.

Yelping, she bowled straight into _Akayo_, knocking from _Kalikow's_ struggling form. The dog Vulpix leapt to his feet with a look of shock on his features, spitting out a lump of fur. In an instant the Eevee was on his feet, limp from exhaustion but still growling, still trying to fight.

_Eldora_ nuzzled the beige-coloured cheek, murring softly. _Kalikow_ stopped growling and looked at her, ears drooping slightly as his fur blushed pink. _Akayo_ gave a snarl of disgust and scampered off, his numerous wounds suddenly illuminated by the sun as he left the path and ran off back towards the den.

_Eldora _couldn't care less. She had done the right thing, and never had she been happier with a decision.

Together, they walked upon the paths of the shining place, begging for food from the tall-no-tails and playing by the metal trees until the sun went down. Then, their fur illuminated by the soft, white light of the moon they padded to the upturned crate and curled up together, delighting in each other's scentsmells and the touch of each other's bodies against the other, something they had not realised they had missed so sorely.

And though the Eevee felt as though he was padding through a dream world as the vixen still let off that intoxicating _heat_smell, he managed to look past the scent and see her for who she truly was; a snappy, moody little Vulpix whom he loved more than any other in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: In Which, They try to Stay in the City

Upon awaking the next day, the pair's immediate thoughts were to return home, but for some reason this did not appeal to them as much as they thought it would after a moment of careful thought.

Grooming each other for a short while, they stepped out from underneath the crate and into the morning sunshine, blinking slightly as their eyes adjusted.

The first thing they did was run to the outskirts of the shining place and find some berries to heal _Kalikow's _various injuries, mainly those on his ruff. _Eldora_ made him eat most of the fruit she found, some of which the Eevee found he did not recognize, but others she also rubbed directly onto the wounds themselves, the more potent ones making him yelp as they stung his cuts. He would have to take her word for it when she said they would be healed in but three suntimes.

When they went back to the shining place, the tantalising scents of various swim-tails made their senses come to life as they ran towards the main area of the crate place and secured a meal of two silver-swim-tails, which they ate, not underneath their little home, but right in the middle of the place. It would seem all initial fear of the tall-no-tails had been lost.

After finishing their quick meal, they decided to explore the shining place properly for once, as they realised that, although they had been there for a count of five suntimes, they had seen very little of the tall ones' world.

With these thoughts in mind, they ran through the crate place and came to a large, white-coloured barricade; oddly cool upon touch, despite not being metal.

Sniffing and murring softly, they ran along this wall's length until they came to a sudden gap.

What they saw left them breathless for quite some time.

Before them was a world of lake and soft, soft ground that they sank into as soon as they stood on it, though not much past their ankles. The lake sparkled as it moved upon this land, only to retreat with a soft growling noise. Small-no-tails played and rolled in the ground under the watchful gaze of the older ones, while creatures of both predator and prey ran around, laughing in their own languages as they tumbled.

Glancing at each other in confusion, the two suddenly began laughing also, leaping onto the ground and rolling over, nuzzling and playing as the soft ground flew up around them.

Upon asking a passing mer-single-tail, a distant cousin of the maned-single-tail, they discovered that the ground was called _sand_ and the great lake was called _sea_. They were also told that the _sea_ was what made that air taste salty, and under no circumstances were they to drink from the great lake, as it would make them sick.

Thanking the Vaporeon for her helpful information, the two friends ran off to the borderlines of the _sand_, where it joined the _sea_.

After a moment of one daring the other, _Kalikow_ finally dipped his paw into the water, squealing loudly as he danced away, complaining loudly that it was far too cold. Snorting, _Eldora_ walked in, and after what seemed like a lifetime of shivering, moving back and soft whimpering, she finally paddled in up to her chest, sticking her tongue out at the Eevee, who sat watching her on the shore.

But of course, never one to be left out, _Kalikow_ soon joined her in the _sea_, kicking strongly but keeping his head above the surface at all times. Once he was finally in, they proceeded to play and splash in the blue depths, giggling and murring until the water grew even colder and their limbs became tired and they were forced to return to the _sand_ before they were carried out too far.

Soaked, they padded up to the softest part of the _sand_ and curled up together, wet fur soon drying in the hot summer's sun as curious Krabby and other such creatures watched them from a safe distance.

It was fairly dark when they awoke, and they both found themselves to be quite hungry. The _sand_ was now void of tall-no-tails and their Pokémon companions, but the Krabby still remained.

One of those who became too curious about the foxes resting on the _sand_ became the pairs' meal.

Licking their lips as they left the _sand _place, the soft ground littered with the bright, red remains of the Krabby, they returned to the shining place to find it bustling with an unusual amount of activity, tall-no-tail packs everywhere they could possibly fit. It confused them, and perhaps even scared them a little, but they were more curious than anything and so shoved their way past the packs towards the centre. They were all gathered around the crate place.

Glancing at each other in puzzlement, they ran towards their own crate only to find that it wasn't there, and neither were the others that had been piled up all around it.

Whimpering, they looked towards the tall-no-tails, but they could not understand their barking and their murring no matter how hard they tried. Everywhere they looked that had once had crates was now void of them, even those that had been full of silver- and slimy-swim tails. Not only was their home gone, but all of their food was too.

Going to where the pack of red-six-tails lived was out of the question, even if the chances of them even being there anymore was slim. They thought of returning home, but something about the strange, shining place appealed to them so strongly that they found they could not escape. Perhaps it was all of the easy food they had been receiving, or all of the comfortable sleeping places they had found, they did not know. All they knew for certain now was that they either found somewhere to live and food to eat or their time in the shining place would be very short indeed.

After a night of searching and sleeping behind metal stumps, they finally came across an area they thought could be acceptable.

Tall-no-tails were constantly using those strange rods to capture Magikarp, Remoraid and others, and they always seemed to be throwing away a huge amount, so that was food secured.

As for where to live… the pair quickly located a strangely shaped, upturned tree of some kind with a hole in the rotting side, allowing easy access for two, slim creatures such as themselves. The bonus was that this tree thing was right next to where the tall ones caught their fish, and so they only had to venture a little way out to be fed.

A Pokétrainer might think predators like the two foxes would not be content living without the need to hunt their own prey, but they would be wrong. Eevee and Vulpix had always been wild in the blood, but when a chance for an easier lifestyle came along they simply took it without so much as a lingering glance back into the past. Unless, of course, the easy lifestyle did not remain for a long as they wished it to.

Two nighttimes after they took up residence in their new home, a storm came to the shining place. It was not a major one, but it was so large and loud that it terrified the two creatures as they huddled up close underneath the rotting tree-like thing.

Water leaked inside through the numerous holes and gashes in their home's walls, soaking the already miserable foxes through to the skin. Each of them were wondering if it was truly a good idea that they had decided to stay, but they were both determined to give it at least three more suntimes.

If it all went wrong during that time, they were leaving.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: In Which, a Greater Storm Comes Along

The first suntime of the three they had set aside was perfect, simply perfect. They managed to get three silver-swim-tails off of the tall-no-tails catching them from the _sea_, and the inside of their home quickly dried out from the previous nighttime.

They had no means in which to seal up their home to protect themselves in case another storm came along, but they remained hopeful.

It was all too blatantly obvious that they knew little about the true ferocity of the _sea_, and what life-taking terrors it could throw up within the slightest heartbeat…

The second day was a little darker than the rest, and they realised with a jolt that summertime was coming to an end, and that autumn would be starting soon.

Tails lightly touching, they walked around the shining place in complete silence, something making them wary, agitated, their fur lifting every-so-often for no apparent reason.

Despite the darkness, the air was warm and thick and it pressed down heavily on them. The tinge of metal was in the air, but, then again, it was _always_ in the air in the tall-no-tail place, where the homes and stumps alike were _all_ made out of the cold, shining material.

But the air had never tasted so potently of it before.

Sitting peaceably on the _sand_, they watched the waves of the great, roaring _sea_ roll in and out to the beat of their breath, united in rhythm and speed. In… and out… in… and out…

It was quite relaxing, really. A couple of sea-sky-tails, or Wingulls, cawed and screeched as they circled above in the dark, blue sky, but even their nosy voices were like music to the two foxes, combined with the growls of the sea, the crunch of _sand_ underfoot prey and predator…

Suddenly, the waves grew more furious and the beat changed, making _Kalikow_ open his eyes and watch it with some nervous curiosity, flicking his ears back and forth as he attempted to fall back into the beat, though it was no use.

Standing up, he let out a low bark, which made _Eldora_ get to her feet also, looking at him quizzically, licking his chin and cheek. He nuzzled her, but was constantly staring out to _sea_, his movements distracted and hesitant, as though he was afraid the slightest movement would tilt an inner balance, both his and the world's around them…

With a yelp, he backed away from the great lake as one particularly large wave rushed up towards them, shrinking away a few paces before they were sitting, but even that was too close. They had never seen the _sea_ approach so far before.

Whimpering, the Eevee nudged and nuzzled the red-six-tail until she understood what he was trying to say and came away from the _sand_ place with him.

He did not know how, or even why, he could sense something bad was going to happen, but he did. All he was curious about was why his beautiful _Eldora_ could not feel it, too…

They soon discovered why the _sea_ was so rough.

And why the air was so thick and metallic.

A thunderstorm with a strength the two foxes had never seen before was approaching.

And it was approaching fast.

The rains started to fall as they raced, side-by-side, back towards their little home. However, as they reached it with the great raindrops above sheeting over the stone floor like ghosts, _Kalikow _instantly realised that it would not protect them from the storm. _Eldora_ also realised this and stepped away from the upturned tree, pressing to the maned-single-tail, breathing quickly in obvious panic. She was afraid of what was coming.

Determined to protect her, _Kalikow_ tugged gently on her ear before racing down the streets as the fat raindrops splashed onto his furred body, soon soaking him, so powerful they almost hurt. _Eldora _stood at the side of the tree, blinking at him in confusion before letting loose a high-pitched barking noise and chasing after him, her paws making a wet splish-splash noise as they came into contact with the sodden ground, her fur clinging to her in great clumps, the tuft of her on her forehead hanging limp on her little face.

She called to him, pleading with him to wait up for her, but a loud boom of thunder drowned out her cries and she squealed, curling up into a ball with her paws over her face, shuddering, the rain still pelting down onto her.

_Kalikow_ spun around to see her, and raced back towards her. As he skidded to a halt, he took her scruff in his jaws; the loose area of skin meaning it would cause her no harm. Lifting her slightly off of the ground, he shook her gently, whimpering past all of the red fur in his mouth. The red-six-tail opened her eyes and blinked wearily at him, fear shining in those twin, red orbs. He let her get to her feet, brown gazing into ed as he licked her cheek in an encouraging fashion, urging her to go on, telling her in their broken tongue that they had to keep going, no matter how tired or scared they felt. She folded her ears back, looking at him, brows slightly furrowed. She briefly pressed her nose to his before running off again, and lightning arched through the skies. He yipped with joy and chased after her.

They were not giving up _just_ yet!

The storm was still crashing overhead as they collapsed between two metal stumps, huddling to one-another for warmth as holes in the ground, covered by metal meshes of some kind, began to overflow and flood the cold, stone floors.

They eventually managed to get some sleep, despite jumping subconsciously whenever the thunder rumbled like some gigantic beast of legend- maybe even the great-green-Dragon, known to tall-no-tails as Rayquaza…

But then the floodwaters began to creep around them, encircling them like a moat. They jumped awake as the cold wetness touched them, tripping over themselves and each other in their panic, bashing into the metal stumps and almost knocking them over. It was total chaos, in their mind, as the water crept closer and closer as they backed further and further away, eyes wide with fear. It would seem that the water was creeping up on them from everywhere, for they were eventually forced to huddle in the centre of the shining place, and the liquid was approaching them from every angle.

There was nowhere to hide.

Nowhere to go.

_Eldora_ closed her eyes and pressed to _Kalikow_, her fear of the approaching water seemingly greater even than his- and he didn't know why, for they'd swam in the great _sea_ happily enough. He knew they'd be able to swim their way to safety, should it come to that, but still she seemed so hesitant…

Looking around desperately, _Kalikow_ spotted the crate place where he'd stayed during the time _Eldora_ had been with the other red-six-tails. He nudged her gently and ran over to the creates, relieved to see that the tall-no-tails had left some more there since they'd gone off to find a different home.

He leapt onto the crate, followed quickly by the sodden vixen, and proceeded to jump up onto the other crates until they were high above the ground, and out of the reach of the rising waters.

While that high, the winds seemed to blow stronger and his long ears and mane were whipped around his face. Eyes half-closing as he looked around, the darkness and the rain obscuring his vision, he tried to find somewhere for them to go, where they'd be dry and safe. The great blocks where the tall-no-tails lived were dark and foreboding, and he didn't think them a very good place to turn to. Even the trees that normally glowed like sunshine-tail-flies, Volbeats, were dark and almost impossible to see.

It was hopeless.

It was like the storm had killed the shining place.

He stood guard over her while she slept, curled up at his stomach and chest while he stared into the never-ending darkness, feeling strained as he tried to see something that would help them. Surely the storm would die out, soon? He could see the great sun rising above the ink-black _sea_, casting its warm glow over a cold and dead world.

But even the shining sun would not give him any comfort, for the black clouds were still above, choking the skies and throwing down great raindrops.

He froze as he realised that _Eldora_ hadn't shifted for a while, like she usually did when she slept, and upon pressing his nose to her flank he yelped to find how cold she was, despite the normal, bright and beautiful warmth he could always find underneath her fur.

She was cold. So cold. Why wasn't she moving?

Why was she lying there… so… still…?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: In Which, They are Introduced to a World Unbeknown to Them

Finally, the storm died away into nothing and the sun was allowed to use its full strength, and the shining place was once again shining.

But _Kalikow_ was not.

Still, _Eldora_ would not move, no matter how hard he nudged her. She was still alive, of that he was sure, for he could still feel the little beat in her throat that he had been taught meant _life_. That was, after all, the place one had to bite in order to make the chase the prey and the food, so he had believed that the thud-thud meant _life_ still existed. It certainly wasn't there if something was dead.

But she still wasn't moving.

He stayed beside her, pressing as close to her as he could, trying to give her back some of the warmth that she had lost so suddenly. He groomed her until she was completely dry, and spotlessly clean, to boot. His loyalty was unfathomable.

Just as he was about to try and get some sleep, belly growling like some sort of beast due to him not leaving her side for the entire day, he heard movement outside, the crate began to judder and shake and he leapt to his feet, nearly trampling _Eldora_, looking around wildly. He jumped up, placing his forepaws on the edge of the crate and tried to find the source of the shaking.

He nearly jumped out of his fur when he located the source.

A tall-no-tail was carrying the crate!

Ducking down out of the strange creature's line-of-sight, he desperately licked _Eldora's _cheek, hoping to wake her up, for his need for her was now at its peak. She was always the sensible one, always the one who knew exactly what to do…

Apart from last night. Last night she had been almost too terrified to move.

The tall-no-tail barked to a few other members of its pack, and the crate was handed to another one. _Kalikow_ couldn't take it any longer. If they stayed in the crate, they'd end up getting covered in a tonne of silver- and slimy-swim-tails, or maybe even a whiskered-swim-tail or two, and would suffocate under the writhing, scaly bodies. So he jumped up to his hindpaws again, face directly in front of the strange, flat, furless one of the tall-no-tail. Judging by the high-pitched cry that escaped from the creature's lips, it was a female, but that didn't comfort the maned-single-tail as the crate was dropped and he and a rather limp-looking _Eldora_ tumbled out.

He felt faint and dizzy as he rolled onto the cold, stone floor, his energy almost completely depleted due to not having eaten all day. _Eldora_ had fallen beside him, but still she would not move, and her pelt was getting colder and colder by the second.

They laid there, _Kalikow_ pressing as close tothe red-six-tail as he could, as the tall-no-tails gathered around them, talking into their impossibly loud, booming voices.

He closed his eyes, trying to shut it all out. His nervousness around them had been lost, certainly, but there were still something about the great, tail-less, fur-less creatures that awakened an ancient fear within the fox's heart, telling him to keep out of sight, as far away from them as he possibly could.

But he was surrounded, and so could not run away. He opted instead to lie still and wait for a quick end.

Great shadows, passing over his eyes… someone touching his forepaw, lifting it, turning it in the great, long-fingered paws of a tall-no-tail… a light prickle of pain, a whimper escaping from between his lips.

And then blissful peace.

Upon awakening, the first thing he noticed was a bright, white light, so dazzling that he had to close his eyes again, and even then there were great spots of light, dancing behind the darkness of his eyelids.

He whined, shifting his paws to place them over his eyes in order to shut out the brightness, finding that his movements were stiff and awkward, like he was tired and his muscles were sore, only he couldn't feel any pain- in fact, he could feel very little in the first place, just emptiness.

It was not the kind of experience he particularly enjoyed.

Some time later, he slowly opened his eyes again, sighing with relief to see that the brightness had dimmed since he had last ventured a peak, and he opened them fully, blinking slightly in the almost… blue… lighting. The unnaturalness of it all made him sit up, though his movements were almost painfully stilted.

Looking around in confusion, he at first thought he was inside one of those metal stumps, for it was dark around him, save from that dim, blue, light, and the floor was cold, like the surface of the stumps had been.

But then he reached out, and he found that the area around him was much bigger than that of the scrap-filled objects, and if he placed his paw down a few feet in front of where he was sitting now, he could feel a soft material, almost like fur- but it wasn't fur, he could tell. There was something about it that told him it had been made by the tall-no-tails.

Just like the shining place had been made by them…!

So he was still in the shining place?

But what part?

He couldn't remember any soft fur-like materials or blue lights around the place, and him and _Eldora_ had explored… every… p-

_Eldora_!

Where was she?

Was she all right?

Whimpering softly, he forced his stiff and unfeeling body to walk a few paces forwards, trying to catch her scent among all of the unusual, unfamiliar and unnatural ones that belonged to the tall-no-tails.

But he couldn't find a trace of her anywhere…

Suddenly, he came to the end of what he had been standing on and, with a highly audible yelp, tumbled down from the metal, the fur-stuff catching on his hindpaw's claws and falling down after him.

He landed with a painful crunch! on the floor, the material floating down like a cloud to rest upon his trembling form.

The bright light came on again. He could hear footsteps- big, heavy footsteps that could only belong to one creature that existed under the sky… a tall-no-tail! Was he in one of those… block… things…? With all of the lights and the noise and the cold…?

Pale, thin, fingers closed around his middle and lifted him from the ground, another paw gently tugging the material from his hindpaw, where it had managed to get itself tangled during his fall. He trembled, curling into as tight a ball he could, his ruff standing up on end so that those delicate, probing, fingers wouldn't be able to touch his throat, where the _life_ still beat strongly, just like he'd been taught it would do.

The creature made a sound, and his ears pricked, knowing there was a barrier between his and the tall-no-tail's noises even greater than the one between him and his red-six-tail.

But… still… that noise seemed to have certain significance… and he'd certainly heard it being made by one of them before- several times, in fact.

It said it again.

"Stay."

The tall-no-tail female placed him back on the cold metal, wrapping the material around him, as though telling him to make his nest, his bedding, out of it.

And again.

"Stay."

_S-tay_…what did that mean? _Stay_.

"Stay."

Whimpering, he curled up in the material, hiding from the strange sound and the light and, most of all, the tall-no-tail and its pale, ghostly features.

Footsteps told him that it had left, as did the sudden, blessed, darkness that surrounded him like the material did, which was now soft and warm due to his curling in it, and scented… scented like his own fur… which, in turn, carried traces of _Eldora's_…

Sleep did not come easily to him that night.

But her scent was all the comfort he could wish for.

It could only be bettered by the red-six-tail herself.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: In Which, Fear Overtakes all Rational Thinking

When he next woke, he was relieved to find that all of the numbness he had been feeling previously had gone, and could stand up and move around without hindrance.

The strange lights from directly above was gone, and instead sunlight, real, true, light, was streaming in through clear places in the sides of the block, for he had now allowed himself to believe that he was within one of the human nests, and illuminating various places on the floors.

Now that he could see properly, he could finally take in all of his surroundings, but he didn't like what he saw very much.

He was alone, as far as his sight and smell could tell him, and that in itself wasn't very comforting, for he was a social one and had intensely disliked being alone ever since _Eldora_ had ran off with the pack of her own kind. Now that he was without her again, it was like the same thing was repeating itself, only this time he didn't know where she was, whereas before he had at least taken small reassurance in knowing she was safe with the others.

He on some sort of raised platform in the centre of the area, and that was pretty much it- apart from one other thing. On a little ledge by one of the places in the wall where the sunlight streamed inside there was some sort of little tree in a container, but that was all.

Pretty bland, really.

Sighing softly, he laid on the platform, forepaws stretched out before him with his chin rested on his arm, ears folded flat against his furry head as he contemplated various things, like why was he there, where was _Eldora_, how soon would they be out of here and together again?

Just as he was about to get up and have a proper look around, a side of the wall surrounding him opened and that tall-no-tail female walked in again, blinking at him. The little fur it had was quite unusual, all on its head and quite long, as well as quite a shocking pink, like the Skitty he had encountered in the shining place. Colours were not odd to the maned-single-tail, but considering he had seen most of the tall-no-tails with dull, dark colours- such as blacks and browns- and lighter colours- such as yellows and reds- the pink was a little different to what he'd seen adorning the round skulls of the two-legged creatures.

They watched each other for a moment, _Kalikow's _decidedly distrusting, and he could tell that the female understood that.

But he made no motion to indicate that she couldn't come towards him- after all, hadn't she picked him up and held him the other night and not done him any harm? A creature's attitude could easily flit from passive-to-violent, but there was something about this one that told him she wouldn't do that.

So she took his lack of motion as an invitation and walked over to him, sitting on the edge of the raised platform, and so allowing him a lot of free space, seemingly knowing that he wouldn't want to be too close to her.

He bristled as she reached into her pocket, and began to sniff suspiciously as he took something out, offering it to him.

A few moments of scenting he discovered it was food of some kind, and tentatively took it from her hand, watching her every movement as he chewed slowly, wishing he had a Pecha berry handy in case there was something in the offered, dried, meat that would need to be counter-acted by the healing properties of the sweet, soft, fruit. The meat in itself didn't taste too bad, but there was the taint tall-no-tail about it, and so the flavour was a little off for his preferences.

Upon finishing, he begrudgingly allowed her to reach out and press her delicate fingertips on his headfur, but he didn't like it one bit and was tense the entire time, his fur lifting into her touch.

Seemingly sensing that he wasn't enjoying the attentions, she soon withdrew her strangely-shaped paw and curled it into a fist, resting it limply on her lap, watching him with eyes that were almost as brightly pink as the fur on her head, which he knew for definite was unusual, because he'd only encountered a few different types of eye-colour, _Eldora's _red being the closest thing he had to compare with the tall-no-tail female's, and even then they were odd.

The creature made a soft sound, and he realised that she was sighing, and watched unblinking as she closed those eyes and tilted her flat face downwards, tiny little mouth a straight line, an expression he knew to be upset or discomfort.

And something in him changed.

No matter what species, he hated to see things upset. Something in the little fox's heart was exceedingly compassionate and kind, and though he felt nothing but trepidation towards this odd, tall, thing's kind, he couldn't help but utter a soft whine and take a step towards her.

She looked up and towards him, and her lips twitched in the making of a smile. She held out her hand to him, and he hesitated for a moment, but then got to him paws and padded over to her, lying down and resting his chin on her lap, fluffy tail brushing against her hand. He was strangely pleased to hear her make a sound that translated to murring in his mind.

Lying as still as he could make himself while she drew the long-fingered paw of hers down his beige-coloured back, he suddenly felt a wave of pleasure ripple through his body as she tickled the digits behind his ears, managing to find places that were often attacked by itching parasites and taking care of the itches good. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to rumble in the proper version of murring, relaxing completely, surrendering to her fingers and their pleasing routes across the irritating spots on his body that his fore- and hindpaws couldn't quite reach by themselves.

He had almost been reduced to a floppy little pup when the fear of the tall-no-tails kicked up again in his heart and he jerked away, eyes wide as he yelped and shivered, staring at her with disbelief, as if he couldn't believe he had allowed himself to leave himself so open to her, when she could've ended his life in a heartbeat. Taken the _life_ from his throat and the vein of the _life_blood.

Even though she hadn't threatened him.

Even though she'd done nothing to harm him.

The fear wouldn't let him approach her again.

After a while of watching and waiting, she bowed her head once, stood up, and left the small area without another sound.

Puzzlement making his brows furrow, he stood up again and jumped down off of the raised platform, swiftly padding towards where she had left- the place on the wall that felt slightly different to the wall itself and the platform as he pressed his black-coloured nose to it. It smelt more like the trees that had been in the forest where him and _Eldora_ had lived, but still had that stinking taint of tall-no-tails about it.

Sniffing around it, he soon found a gap, about one inch tall, on the ground, below the tree-scented piece of wall. Looking up, he saw a piece of the wall sticking out a little bit further, and understood that it must've had something to do with how the tall-no-tails opened the thing, which, in turn, allowed them access to whatever was beyond it- but what _that_ was, exactly, he didn't really know. But something told him that _Eldora_ was beyond the wall, and so he had to find his way to her, no matter what.

But how…?

What if only tall-no-tails could open the wall…?

Would he be stuck in here forever…?

Trapped by his fear?

Trapped by the female?

He didn't know, just like he didn't know much about this strange place and all of the strange ways of those who lived here. But there was something in him that was determined to find out, desperate to know and understand what was going on, and how it could be worked to one's advantage.


End file.
